The Ponds are gone, but
"Doctor Who" will welcome back a famed writer and beloved villains in an episode scheduled for 2013.

Sci-fi and fantasy literary legend
Neil Gaiman ("Coraline," "Stardust") has penned an installment featuring the return of the Cybermen, which marks the robotic baddies' first appearance on the show since the 2011 episode "Closing Time" (when they invaded a department store and met their match in new father Craig, played by
James Corden).

There are no details yet on Gaiman's plans for the Cybermen, but the
BBC website reveals the episode will also feature a "band of misfits on a mysterious planet" played by guest stars
Warwick Davis ("Life's Too Short"),
Tamzin Outhwaite ("EastEnders") and
Jason Watkins ("Being Human").

Since Gaiman's previous episode -- "The Doctor's Wife," featuring guest star
Suranne Jones as a flesh-and-blood incarnation of the TARDIS -- is one of our favorites of the modern era we couldn't be more excited about this news.

The Doctor's new companion, played by
Jenna-Louise Coleman, will make her official debut in the upcoming Christmas special. The remaining eight episodes of Season 7 kick off in Spring 2013.